


Typical Action Movie Love Story

by CatrinaSL



Series: 100 Ways to Say I Love You [6]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: 100 ways to say i love you, Canon-Typical Violence, Captain America's Disappointed Face™, Chocolate, Disguise, F/F, Flirting, Friends to Lovers, Girls Kissing, Grocery Shopping, Hiding, Inconvenient Plot, Kissing, Minor Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers, Mission Fic, Protection Mission, Resolved Sexual Tension, SHIP DARCY LEWIS WITH ALL THE THINGS, Safehouses, Sharing a Bed, Sleepovers, romance novels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-17
Updated: 2018-06-18
Packaged: 2019-03-29 19:26:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 11,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13933701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CatrinaSL/pseuds/CatrinaSL
Summary: A protection mission. A supervillain. A happy ending. It's just a typical action movie love story.(Tagged MCD and GDV to err on the side of caution.)





	1. Thank You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sleeplessness allows Sharon to reflect on her day... and the person who made it easier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 16\. “It’s okay. I couldn’t sleep anyway.”

The safe house wasn’t huge: two bedrooms with a pull out couch in the living room. They’d drawn lots for who was going to take watch when, and she lost. Rogers and Barnes took one of the bedrooms while Thor’s astrophysicist friend and her assistant took the other. Sharon and Thor split the watch, and, to her dismay, the couch.

She had no idea if Thor had slept a wink on this excuse for a mattress while she was out patrolling, but then again, he  _ was _ a god. Maybe he didn’t need sleep at all.

It was nearly 3 AM, and Sharon had tried everything she knew to get to sleep. She’d reviewed protocol, ran through emergency procedures should they be discovered, conjugated verbs in six languages, and even counted sheep.

At the end of each of these tangents, Sharon found herself thinking of the assistant, Darcy Lewis, and how well she had kept calm and dealt with the disruption in her life. Her boss Doctor Foster had clung to her lab, asking if she could take various gadgets that were too big to carry, much less toss in her pocket before they rushed off to the safe house. But Darcy Lewis had done her best with the ten minutes Sharon had given them. She had packed clothes, important data, and precious instruments with efficiency and briskness. 

And she hadn’t forgotten the Pop Tarts, either. 

Through it all, she had comforted her boss and been a fountain of cheerfulness and energy. Earlier that afternoon she had defused a disagreement between Rogers and Barnes before it could begin. Not to mention that she’d made sure there was food on the kitchen counter (even though it was trail mix and energy bars) and brewed enough coffee to satisfy even a couple of super soldiers and an Asgardian.

Sharon was impressed with her, and impressing Sharon was not an easy thing to do.

It was 3:52 when she finally decided to give up on sleep. She would give her body twenty minutes of rest and then she would get up and go check on Thor. She let out a long breath and closed her eyes, clearing her mind.

And that's when she heard movement in the house. Could Thor have been slacking off? She sat up and listened more closely.

Someone was coming down the hallway.

Sharon kicked off the blanket and had reached for an improvised weapon on the coffee table nearby, but she doubted that the $20 lamp (sans shade) would pack much of a punch.

The light above the kitchen sink clicked on, revealing a disheveled Darcy Lewis, and Sharon relaxed.

"Oh!" Darcy whispered loudly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you..."

"It's okay," Sharon told her, keeping her voice down for sensitive super soldier ears. "I couldn't sleep anyway."

"You too, huh?" Darcy said, with a small smile. 

Sharon nodded. 

"Coffee?"

"Sure," she said, and while Darcy got busy with the coffee maker, Sharon went about righting the lamp and stuffing the pull out "mattress" back into the bowels of hell/inside the couch where it belonged.

Darcy was quiet when Sharon joined her at the kitchen counter. Sharon didn't think it would be polite to try conversation before coffee, so she shared the silence instead.

And then Darcy said, "You do this all the time, huh?"

"Do what?" Sharon asked.

Darcy shrugged. "The whole 'come with me if you want to live' thing?"

"Oh. Not really. I mean, as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, I got assigned to lots of different kinds of missions, and I  _ have _ been in the 'run away and hide' situation before, but not with anyone as high profile as Doctor Foster, or with, uh..."

"With actual supervillains as bad guys?" Darcy supplied.

Sharon tilted her head, allowing this to be true. "Well, I was going to say with so much backup and, well, protecting people who were actually helpful instead of just useless."

"Yeah," Darcy sighed, poking the coffee maker as though that would hurry it, "Jane's pretty awesome."

Sharon turned and leaned against the counter opposite Darcy. "Actually," she said, "I meant you. Most protection missions I've been on, the people I'm supposed to be protecting let their fear take them over. Paralyze them. You didn't. You took it and put it to work. And because you were able to do that, you increased our chances of success. Our job as protectors was easier, and by acting the way you did, you calmed down your boss and gave her the courage to be as calm and helpful as you were."

Darcy was staring at Sharon with wide eyes, as though she didn't quite believe her.

"So yeah," Sharon finished, "I have done the whole 'come with me if you want to live' thing before, but it's never been so easy before, and that's all because of you, Darcy Lewis."

"I... I was definitely still scared, just so you know," Darcy assured her, rushing the admission out quickly as though she was afraid it would nullify her contributions of the day before. "I still am."

Sharon nodded as the coffee maker beeped. Darcy rushed to pour a cup for Sharon, then got one for herself, more slowly.

"I know," Sharon told her. "That's what makes what you did important. You could have fallen apart and curled into a ball, but you didn't."

"But I—" Darcy began.

Sharon waited.

"I spent most of the night curled up in a ball," Darcy admitted finally, shoving the coffee cup up to her mouth and dumping coffee in as though that would solve things.

"That's good," Sharon said finally, as Darcy finished the entire cup in one go.

Darcy coughed a little, then stared at Sharon with confusion. "But I thought you said...?"

"You didn't let fear control you when you needed to move. You let it out when it was appropriate: you were safe, and you had time to deal with it. That's good."

"Okay," Darcy said, her tone letting Sharon know that she still wasn't convinced.

"It's all right to be scared. But you don't need to ignore the fear, or act like it isn't there."

Darcy frowned. "Really?"

Sharon nodded again and sipped more coffee.

"So... I actually helped?" Darcy glanced up at her and Sharon smiled. "They should make me an Avenger or something!"

Sharon chuckled. "They really should," she agreed. "Support staff never gets enough love."

Darcy stared off into the middle distance with a small bemused smile on her face. She rummaged in the cupboard and produced a box of Pop Tarts and offered one to Sharon. "Can you imagine the action figures?" Darcy whispered.

"They should each come with a free box of these," Sharon told her, gesturing with the breakfast pastry.

Darcy laughed, the idea causing her to set her empty coffee cup on the counter and double over, clutching her stomach and heaving with giggles.

When she was finished, she stood, sighed, and smiled at Sharon. "Thank you," she said.

"No," Sharon replied, saluting with the Pop Tart, "Thank  _ you _ , Darcy Lewis."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Reblog on tumblr](http://catrinasl.tumblr.com/post/171972817593/thank-you)
> 
> Tumblr: [catrinasl](http://catrinasl.tumblr.com)
> 
> Twitter: [@Catrina_SL](http://twitter.com/Catrina_SL)


	2. Origin Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy and Sharon work out the sleeping arrangements on the second night in the safe house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 31\. “Don’t worry about me.”

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Sharon asked as she pulled on a tank top.

Darcy sat on the bed, wiggling out of her bra from underneath the oversize t-shirt she was wearing. "Don't worry about me," she said with a shrug. "Jane needs Thor cuddles, and from what you said about the pull out couch last night..." She sighed. "Really, any other sleeping arrangement would be weird. And between you and me, at least 25% of what kept me up yesterday was the Super Snorers. We'd better hope that the sound doesn't carry in from the living room."

Sharon laughed. "Okay, good. I'm glad you see it that way. Some people hate the idea of sleeping next to someone they barely know."

"Some people prefer it," Darcy replied, bobbing her eyebrows.

Sharon was so surprised by the reply that her laugh was almost a giggle. She covered her mouth to muffle it, but Darcy joined her.

"Sorry, that was pretty terrible," Darcy said, a laugh still in her voice. "I didn't mean to imply that we—"

"It's fine," Sharon interrupted, then busied herself with getting into bed.

"Wow, I didn't know S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents blushed so easily," Darcy observed.

"I'm not—" Sharon began, embarrassed. "I wasn't blushing."

"Mmhm," Darcy hummed, managing to sound unconvinced.

A sharp knock on the door preceded Barnes' growl: "Keep it down; we're hiding here, not having a third grade sleepover."

"Our hilarious banter isn't nearly as loud as you and your boyfriend's grandpa snoring," Darcy accused as Barnes opened the door enough to scowl at them.

"Steve is not my—" Barnes began.

"Yeah, keep tellin' yourself that, Grandpa," Darcy interrupted, a disarming grin on her face.

Barnes rolled his eyes and tried again: "It's for your own safety—"

"Okay, okay, we'll keep the gossipy giggles to a minimum as long as you two tone down the snoring and/or sex noises."

Sharon thought he would fire back, but to her surprise, Barnes seemed flustered. He shook his head and shut the door behind him, and they could hear him retreat back down the hallway to the living room.

"Oh my god, I was totally BSing, do you think they're actually together?!" Darcy breathed.

"I... maybe?" Sharon replied. "I guess anything's possible."

"Yeah, like the fact that hiding from super bad guys brings out all my super powers!" Darcy agreed. "This is like, my origin story or something! First I find out about my latent Cool Under Pressure skills, then the Super-Sass emerges, and I was going to warn you earlier: I am a Champion Cuddler. So, like, if you're not into that, maybe one of us should sleep on the floor. Because sometimes I cuddle without meaning to."

"Oh, uh..." If this had been any other protection mission, Sharon would have grabbed a pillow and found a comfortable piece of carpet. 

But instead she shrugged and said, "I'll take my chances."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Reblog on tumblr](http://catrinasl.tumblr.com/post/172490724728/origin-story)
> 
> Tumblr: [catrinasl](http://catrinasl.tumblr.com)
> 
> Twitter: [@Catrina_SL](http://twitter.com/Catrina_SL)


	3. Necessary Supplies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sharon and Darcy head out for some necessary supplies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 33\. “Close your eyes and hold out your hands.”

Sharon let out a long breath and walked down the hallway to rejoin everyone else. Darcy was waiting for her in the entrance to the kitchen, radiating apprehension.

"What did they say?" she asked. "Do we get to go home? I would kill for some internet access."

" _ I _ 'd kill for some chocolate," Sharon replied, then, pitching her voice louder, she endeavored to be heard over the television when she called out: "The rest of the team is still working on it. It looks like we'll be here for a while."

Rogers muted Wheel of Fortune and stood up, coming over to question her more closely about the sit rep she'd just received, while Dr. Foster and Barnes watched from the living room. Sharon gave him the run down, censoring anything the civilians didn't need or wouldn't want to know.

When she was finished, he sighed. "Well, nothing we can do about it for now. We just have to trust our team to take care of things and focus on keeping you safe." He addressed the last to Dr. Foster, then turned to Darcy. "I know it's not a picnic here. Sorry, folks." 

Darcy shrugged, though Sharon could tell she was disappointed. "It's not your fault," she told him, and he gave her an apologetic but encouraging smile before returning to his daytime television.

Sharon watched her as Darcy checked the refrigerator, then the cupboards. She hadn't noticed before, but Darcy hadn't uttered a word of complaint, aside from the occasional wish for internet. Even that, however, was presented positively, in a, "I wish I could show you this video our conversation just reminded me of" way instead of a draining, negative, "oh my god when do we get out of here and why can't we  _ at least _ get some  _ internet _ ?!"

She was just about to thank Darcy,  _ again _ , for being the ideal protectee when Darcy scooted closer to her and whispered, "Can I talk to you? In the bedroom?"

"Uh… sure," Sharon said, using her surprise to cover up the blush which had threatened to emerge due to Darcy's words and conspiratorial tone. 

Not that she had expected anything to happen, even though they had shared a bed on the nights that she and Thor weren't on watch ( _ and _ had ended up cuddling at least twice), and Darcy had never been shy about teasing her about it (or was she flirting?).

"We have a problem," Darcy reported as soon as she'd pulled the door shut behind her.

"Okay?"

"We're going to have to go out; we need necessary supplies."

"Oh." That wasn't surprising; there  _ were _ six of them stuffed into the little two bedroom house, three of which could eat their entire body weight in one sitting and still have room for more.

Darcy sighed. "When we bring it to the guys,  _ they _ 're going to want to take care of it. And none of them is exactly subtle."

"Rogers can be subtle," Sharon pointed out.

"But is Bucky gonna want to stay here and let Steve-o go out without him?"

"Good point," Sharon allowed.

"Thor still walks around like a tourist, not to mention his 'look at me, look at me' cape. And Jane has to stay put; that's not up for discussion."

Sharon nodded.

"So it should be you and me."

"I don't—" Sharon began.

"Two is better than one," Darcy interrupted. "If you go out there alone and something happens to you, I'd—" she paused, then swallowed and looked Sharon in the eye. "I'd get scowled at by the boss, and that's not something I want to happen. Have you ever  _ seen _ Captain America's Disappointed Face™?"

Sharon laughed. "Okay, so what's the plan, then?"

"We should get dressed to go out before we tell everyone else. That'll give us a little advantage. Then we beat them down with logic."

"You think Rogers is going to get on board with this just so we don't have to change clothes again?" Sharon asked, her eyebrow raised.

"Hey," Darcy said with a grin, "it's how I talked my step dad into letting me go to prom!"

* * *

Forty-five minutes later, Sharon and Darcy were jogging down the street, dressed like a couple of suburban moms on their way home from yoga.

"I  _ cannot believe _ that worked," Sharon told her as they paused at a crosswalk.

"'I know I didn't do my math homework, Greg, but look! I'm all ready to go and my friends are waiting! I promise I'll do it tomorrow, just please don't make me  _ miss prom _ !'" Darcy whined.

Sharon laughed. "Okay, Master Planner, what do we do from here?"

In reply, Darcy pointed down the street at a flashing neon sign.

Sharon was skeptical. "Seriously? It's not exactly... covert."

"That's why nobody'll notice us," Darcy argued. "Also, I must have All The Deals. Do you have any idea how expensive it is to feed a god?"

She didn't, so Sharon allowed Darcy to lead her into  _ Everyday Super Store!!! _ (the three exclamation points emphasized the savings). It was part 7-11, part dollar store, all unnecessary hype. It was absolutely opposite of everything and anything quiet and unassuming.

"I don't actually think I've ever been in one of these before," Sharon whispered to Darcy, as she angled her black baseball cap down so that the camera at the door wouldn't catch her face.

"Oh, they're great!" Darcy assured her, stopping to wrestle a cart out of the corral. "Really noisy, and we look just like their average customers, so no one will look twice at us. Oh! The boys will love these!" She paused by an end cap and hefted a gigantic bag of frosted animal crackers into the cart.

Sharon kept a suspicious eye on the other patrons to make sure none looked too interested in them, and everything seemed to be going well until sirens started going off in the front of the store.

Lights were flashing, loud music started playing, and there seemed to be small explosions going off. Sharon went straight for the gun she'd hidden in her shoe, but Darcy stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. 

"It's fine," she hissed, hoisting four gallons of milk into the cart. "It's just the hundredth customer."

"The what?" Sharon hissed back.

"They do a big celebration for every hundredth customer," Darcy told her. "Balloons, strobe lights, fog machine, the works. I won thousandth customer one time.  _ That _ made even  _ more _ noise. I used up the gift card they gave me in about a week and a half, though."

Sharon pretended to be tying her shoelace as Darcy wandered a little further down the aisle, scrutinized a display, and started shoveling pepperoni into the cart. "Oh yeah," Sharon heard her say. "I'm making pizza tonight."

The fullness of the cart had Sharon a little worried as they approached the checkout, but Darcy assured her that this sort of thing was normal at  _ Everyday Super Store!!! _ "And since it's been about ten minutes since the last hundredth, there's no way we're going to win it," she whispered as she loaded things onto the counter.

"H...ow are we going to get all this stuff back?" Sharon realized aloud.

Darcy, for the first time, did not have an immediate answer. She gaped at the checkout girl. "Well, would you believe it?" Darcy asked her. "I  _ totally _ forgot we walked! I just filled up the cart like my minivan is waiting for me in the parking lot like usual!" Then she laughed.

Sharon couldn't see the humor in the situation, but she managed a small, pretend smile for the checkout girl.

"Well, we could just buy a couple of those two-wheeled carts, and carry the rest," Darcy told her, then turned to Sharon with a, "I'm  _ so _ sorry; I can't believe I forgot!" She dug in her bag for cash, waited for the checkout girl to return and ring up the carts, then handed the huge amount over without blinking. 

"Sherrie and I are doing meal planning together," She told the checkout girl as she rearranged her change in her bag. "It's so much easier to buy everything at once and much more fun when you have a friend to help! Four hands are better than two; am I right?"

The checkout girl cheerfully agreed and wished them good luck, and Darcy and Sharon loaded themselves and their cheap but apparently stable carts with their purchases and headed back to the safe house.

"That was amazing," Sharon said, when the house was in sight.

"I know," Darcy agreed. "I can't believe I did that. I promise I'll never do it again."

"What do you mean? I thought it was great!"

"Really?" Darcy asked. "You  _ like _ me calling you 'Sherrie'?"

Sharon laughed. "Well, no, but I was talking about the rest of it. Did you have that little speech planned from the beginning, or was it spur-of-the-moment?"

"A little of column A, a little of column B," Darcy said with a shrug, setting bags down on the porch and going back down the steps to help Sharon heft one of the carts up. "About halfway through I realized that I was either going to have to get us what we needed for tomorrow and then come back later with a pack mule, which I didn't think we should do, or that we were going to be hauling home half the store." She paused and grinned at Sharon. "Did you like the minivan line?"

Sharon grinned back. "It was inspired."

* * *

Pizza crust was rising and super soldiers and gods alike had been pacified with the 72 ounce bag of frosted animal crackers. Groceries had been stashed, and both Sharon and Darcy had had a chance to get out of their suburban mom getups and have a shower.

Separately.

Sharon walked into the kitchen, toweling off her hair, as Darcy was getting ready to put on another pot of coffee.

"I think it's a really good thing we went," she said. "You have no idea how low our coffee and Pop Tarts stores were running."

"Talk about necessary supplies," Sharon replied, helping herself to what was left in the coffee pot.

"And a few unnecessary ones," Darcy muttered.

"What was that?"

Darcy grinned. "Close your eyes and hold out your hands," she said.

Sharon gave her a wary look, but did.

"Okay, now open them," Darcy said, as Sharon felt something hit her palm.

It was a chocolate bar.

Sharon gaped at it, then smiled at the grinning woman in front of her. "You're amazing, Darcy Lewis."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Reblog on tumblr](http://catrinasl.tumblr.com/post/172555050713/necessary-supplies)
> 
> Tumblr: [catrinasl](http://catrinasl.tumblr.com)
> 
> Twitter: [@Catrina_SL](http://twitter.com/Catrina_SL)


	4. Chocolate and Clichés

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sharon is willing to share her chocolate with Darcy, but it turns out that she doesn't have to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 34\. “That’s okay, I bought two.”

Sharon felt a little guilty when Darcy bounced into bed beside her and said, "Okay, are you ready for chapter six of  _ The Moon's Temptation _ ? I'm sure we're going to get to some heaving bosoms any second now."

She laughed and shook her head. Though Sharon had no idea where Darcy had located the hilariously bad romance novel, she'd found herself enjoying the evenings that Darcy got it out and read aloud. (Especially when whichever super soldier was trying to sleep came to tell them off for being too loud, and Darcy pitched her voice to an even lustier tone and continued anyway.)

The reason she was feeling guilty was... "I feel bad. I didn't want to eat the chocolate you got me in front of the others so they wouldn't be jealous, so I saved it. But I don't want to eat it in front of you, either."

Darcy grinned slyly. "You don't want to share?"

Sharon looked at the chocolate longingly. "Well..."

"That’s okay," Darcy said, turning toward her bedside table and returning with an identical chocolate bar. "I bought two."

The surprise on her face must have been obvious, because Darcy laughed. "I just wanted to see if you'd sacrifice your chocolate for me," she said. "Don't worry, you pass."

"Good to know," Sharon said, smiling at her.

"Chocolate and romance novels," Darcy remarked, pulling the wrapping away from her chocolate and taking a huge bite. "Want to braid each other's hair and have a pillow fight, or do you figure this is enough cliché girly stuff for one night?"

Sharon unwrapped her own chocolate bar and bit into it. Heaven. "Maybe later," she said. 

"Okay," Darcy said, and winked at Sharon before cracking open the well-used paperback. "Let's do this, then. 'Ricardo pushed Anamaria up against the wall, his breath hot against her neck. Slowly, he lifted the hem of her skirt. Anamaria gasped, but her eyes begged him not to stop. His hands ran up her milky white thighs to grasp her waist. "My Darling," Ricardo whispered...'"

It didn't take Sharon very long to stop paying attention. She closed her eyes and listened to the sound of Darcy's voice caressing the words; it didn't matter to her what they were.

"Darcy, for the love of god," came Rogers' exasperated voice from the other side of the door. "I've dreamed elegantly phrased sex scenes every night this week.  _ Please _ let me  _ rest _ ."

Darcy sighed. "Fine," she replied. "Sharon's asleep, anyway."

"No I'm not," Sharon said, popping her eyes open.

"Oh," Darcy said, sounding a little surprised to find her awake. Then she grinned. "I guess we'll just have to have that pillow fight, then."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Steeb.
> 
> [Reblog on tumblr](http://catrinasl.tumblr.com/post/172589714333/chocolate-and-clich%C3%A9s)
> 
> Tumblr: [catrinasl](http://catrinasl.tumblr.com)
> 
> Twitter: [@Catrina_SL](http://twitter.com/Catrina_SL)


	5. Wide Awake and Dreaming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy waits up for Sharon. Things happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 37\. “Can I kiss you?”

Thor was waiting for her on the porch when Sharon returned from her patrol. They exchanged a nod, and she watched the god of thunder disappear into the darkness before she went inside.

The living room lamp clicked on as soon as she had shut the door, and she turned to find Darcy sitting on the couch with a cup of tea that she held out to Sharon.

"Thanks," she said gratefully. "It's getting colder out." 

Darcy nodded and waited while Sharon drank her tea.

Sharon didn't want the silence to get awkward, so she kicked the couch and said, "I'm glad Thor put this thing back together before he left. The couch is much more comfortable to sleep on than the sad excuse for a pull-out bed."

"Oh," Darcy said, "he didn't; I mean, it wasn't ever a bed. Jane was having trouble getting to sleep, so I've been out here all night. I think it's getting to her, being cooped up here. She was talking about having Thor take us to Asgard, so I tried to  convince her that it's probably safer to stay in one spot than it is to risk travel again."

Sharon sighed and sat down next to her. "It can be hard," she said. "I'm sure it is hard. It's even hard on us."

"Yeah, I told her that," Darcy said. "She's got it in her head that if we'd let her at some science, she could help fight the bad guy, or maybe make a cloaking device so they can't find us." She shook her head. "It's just cabin fever and science withdrawal. I bet if we humored her and let her sharpie the walls with theories and formulas, she'd mellow a little."

"Well, I mean..." Sharon began, eyeing the wallpaper. "I'm sure this place could use a makeover, so maybe that wouldn't be so bad."

Darcy laughed. "You're always so cool about everything," she said. "I really admire that about you."

"Oh, uh, thanks," Sharon said, returning to her tea and trying not to blush. 

A few moments later, something occurred to her. "Are  _ you _ okay?" she asked. "I mean, with being here. You aren't going stir crazy?"

Darcy didn't  _ look _ stir crazy. She shrugged. "It's all pretty much the same to me anywhere," she said. "I help Jane. I make coffee. I magic up enough food that might be slightly edible to make sure everyone important stays fed. The only downsides to here are no internet and that I can't go out when I want. There are enough up sides to take care of those things, though."

"Oh yeah?" Sharon challenged. "Building a card castle with Rogers is an up side?"

Darcy laughed, glancing over at the dining room table, which had been covered in a magnificent edifice only hours previously (before it had sadly been brought low by one huff and one puff of a Big Bad Barnes). "Sure," she said. "I mean, I got to  _ see _ Steve sometimes when Jane and I were working in the Avengers' labs, but I never got to hang out with him. And Bucky is hilarious; I love teaching him pop culture. Even spending time with Thor and Jane when nothing is going tits-up is a good time."

Sharon hadn't realized how much she was looking forward to hearing her name on Darcy's 'good things' list until she didn't. She tilted the mug to take another sip of tea only to find that it was empty. She set it on the coffee table.

"And then," Darcy said, her voice wavering slightly, "there's you."

Sharon shot a surprised look at Darcy, who was smiling up at her serenely. She looked away, wishing she hadn't finished the tea so quickly. It was harder to try to hide her blush without it.

"There's no one I'd rather be locked in a house for weeks on end with," Darcy went on. "And I don't think we'd have had a chance to meet and get to know each other if there weren't bad guys in the picture." She paused, and Sharon nearly jumped when Darcy put her hand on Sharon's knee. "I kind of want to thank them, actually."

Sharon's heart was beating so fast that for once, she didn't know what to do. If she tried and failed, then their peaceful safe house existence would be shattered. But if she didn't try, she'd never succeed. She turned toward Darcy, one hand gripping the back of the couch in an attempt to calm herself.

Darcy was still smiling at her. Expectantly? Sharon couldn't risk it; she decided that forgiveness might come easier if she had permission.

"Can I... Can I kiss you?" she bumbled out.

Darcy's smile became a smirk. "I think you'd better, otherwise  _ I _ ’ll have to kiss  _ you _ ," she said.

So Sharon did.

Darcy responded immediately, moaning as she opened her mouth and wound her arms around Sharon to pull her closer.

Sharon couldn't quite believe that this was happening, especially after so many torturous nights of trying to fall asleep with thoughts of what it might be like to run her hand through Darcy's hair. Darcy was responding exactly the way Sharon had fantasized she might: gasping and growling when Sharon's lips left hers and kissed her jaw, her ear, her neck.

Darcy's growl became a frustrated groan as she searched for skin at the small of Sharon's back; Sharon squeaked as Darcy tugged on her shirt and lifted it over her head, exposing the practical sports bra she wore when on watch.

Sharon took the momentary separation as opportunity to pull her hair tie out. Darcy drew an awestruck breath as Sharon’s hair cascaded around her shoulders.

"Please tell me this isn't a dream," she begged.

"More like a dream come true," Sharon returned, and Darcy pounced on her.

Several minutes of bliss followed: fingers lightly tracing along limbs, hot breath on skin, soft sighs in the quiet.

Darcy's mouth was hovering over Sharon's belly button when the front door flew open. Thor stood framed in the opening.

"We are discovered," he reported. "We must depart." He spared a glance for the scene before him, but neither embarrassment nor shyness deterred him. 

He looked at Sharon, seriousness in his eyes. "Now."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Reblog on tumblr](http://catrinasl.tumblr.com/post/172691703213/wide-awake-and-dreaming)
> 
> Tumblr: [catrinasl](http://catrinasl.tumblr.com)
> 
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	6. Chaos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The minutes following Thor's revelation are very chaotic, but Sharon makes sure that everyone stays safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 48\. “I’ll do it for you.”

"Chaos" was the only word that Sharon would have used describe the next twenty minutes.

Darcy moved before she did, thrusting her shirt into her hand (where had it been, anyway?) and hitting the kitchen while Thor glared out the front door, watching. Sharon pulled on her shirt and bustled past Darcy, who was shoving foodstuffs into a bag, and went to wake Barnes and Rogers.

They were spooning, Barnes' nose against Rogers' neck, but Sharon only hesitated a moment before she shattered their peace.

"Up and at 'em, heroes. We're on the clock."

They armed themselves from Barnes' not-so-secret armory in the closet: bulletproof vests and automatic weapons. It took them all of fifteen seconds to decide on their course of action and split up the duties: lookout, sniper, protector. Thor would obviously be the wheelman, though not in the usual way.

The super soldiers headed out to their posts and Sharon stepped silently into the room she'd come to think of as Darcy's to make sure there was a bulletproof vest nearby for when Jane woke up. Though it wasn't the most secure place for her to be, as the most nervous of them, it would be better for the scientist to sleep through most of the preparation, and only wake up when it was time to leave.

Sharon found Jane already awake, and Darcy there, speaking quietly to her. Jane took a deep breath and told her, "I'm all right. I can do this."

Darcy nodded and took a vest from Sharon, all business. She helped Jane into it, then handed her the bag of clothes and other necessaries that she'd packed using only the time Sharon had been in the other room suiting up. "Okay," Darcy said. "We'll wait in the bathroom. Thor said it was the safest place. He'll come get us when it's time."

Jane nodded, smiled slightly at Sharon, and stood to lean against the wall, closing her eyes and taking another deep, calming breath.

"We'll have to leave most of everything," Darcy told Sharon distractedly, as she pulled on her own vest and fiddled with the straps. "I hope whoever holes up here next likes Pop Tarts."

Despite their audience, Sharon wanted nothing more than to kiss her, but there wasn't time.

"Darcy—" she began.

"Incoming!" Rogers' shout interrupted, just before they heard the gunfire.

"Down!" Sharon yelled, and acted on instinct, forcing Darcy to the ground. She glanced over to see that Jane had obeyed and was laying face down on the floor, trembling and looking to Darcy for comfort, but thankfully not making any noise.

Sharon listened for returning fire. There wasn't any, so Sharon helped them both up, and, keeping them bent over, held a hand over Jane's head (as though that would protect her from a stray bullet) while she escorted them to the bathroom.

"Oh my god," Jane squeaked, clinging to Darcy as soon as they entered.

"I'm pretty sure that was just Barnes warning off the bad guys," Sharon told them. She stepped out of the bathroom and put her back to the wall opposite, leaving the door open so that she could still keep an eye on those she was supposed to be protecting, and shouted for Thor.

He appeared in the frame of the front door fifteen seconds later. "We will have to depart in the middle of the street. Heimdall is always ready, but I am waiting for the Captain to give the all-clear."

The low rumble of a faraway explosion sounded, and the ground shook.

"What was that?" Jane wanted to know.

"Another reason to get outta here," Sharon told her. It was partially truth, but she didn't think Jane would want to know the real answer: that Sharon had no idea.

"Thor! You'll have to go now!" came Rogers' voice. "Bucky can probably handle stragglers, but if we wait any longer, you might not have a chance!"

Thor strode heroically across the living room, his armor and cape appearing by magic. He held a hand out for Jane when he reached the bathroom. "Come," he said, the sound of his order comforting in its calmness.

Sharon went along, as a human shield for Darcy if nothing else. And it wasn't like Thor could retaliate if someone took a shot at them. She was the only one with a gun.

Rogers was standing in the middle of the street as they walked out the door, a big red, white, and blue distraction. He was staring at something—Sharon couldn't see, and she didn't think she wanted to—as Thor led them out to stand behind him, far enough away that he wouldn't get caught up in whatever space magic they'd be using for transport.

"Hey, Carter," Darcy said as Thor arranged his cape around Jane and held out a hand for her.

"What?" Sharon asked, starting to back away herself.

"Stay alive, will you?"

Sharon grinned. "Stay alive yourself, Lewis."

"I will," Darcy promised, grinning back. "I'll do it for you."

It seemed Han-Solo-being-frozen-in-carbonite-esque, because as soon as she'd said it, Thor shouted, "Heimdall!"

The dark street was lit by Asgardian science, and the person Sharon cared about most in the world was gone.

Safe, but gone.

"Ah, what a pity," said a voice. Sharon turned to see Rogers raise his shield as _the_ supervillain, the one they'd been protecting Jane and Darcy from, came strolling lazily down the street in their direction. "I seem to have just missed Doctor Foster."

They sighed dramatically, eyeing both the shield and Rogers' defensive stance. "Oh well. At least she left me a few friends to play with."

"Play with this," Sharon quipped, and shot them between the eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Reblog on tumblr](http://catrinasl.tumblr.com/post/173227902668/chaos)
> 
> Tumblr: [catrinasl](http://catrinasl.tumblr.com)
> 
> Twitter: [@Catrina_SL](http://twitter.com/Catrina_SL)


	7. Sweet Dream Come True

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sharon's sweet dreams come true.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 81\. “Sweet dreams.”

Although the threat to Doctor Foster and her assistant had been removed, it took longer than Sharon had anticipated for them to return from Asgard. 

In the meantime, Sharon filled out after-action reports and got yelled at by various Avengers for taking action against evil. She ignored Rogers (who would likely have done the same had Barnes been the one threatened), sat through a lecture from Hill, and laughed at Barton ("oh my god, Carter, you can't just  _ kill _ people").

She considered taking another assignment, but Hill looked at her critically, then asked if she needed a few days' leave. Sharon insisted she was fine, but then thought about how nice it might be to have a couple of days to spend with Darcy... alone. "That's not the worst idea," she admitted.

Hill made a face that seemed to hint at the possibility of a smile. Then she said, "Take a whole week."

The only problem was, Sharon reflected as she stared at the ceiling above her bed on Day Three, was that she had no idea when they would be back. And that she wasn't sure if Darcy even had her number. That's not the kind of thing one is concerned with when slowly flirting oneself into a frenzy with another inmate of one's safe house. Would Darcy be able to get ahold of her when she got back?

Would she  _ want _ to?

There were probably a lot of gorgeous warrior women on Asgard. Maybe the only reason Darcy had been interested in Sharon was because she was the only person available. That sort of thing wasn't unheard of on protection missions, and usually after the mission was over, those sort of relationships ended very quickly.

But Sharon didn’t think that what was between she and Darcy was one of those shallow, in-it-for-the-physical-stuff type of things. It was hard for Sharon to sleep without Darcy. When she did sleep, there were nightmares. It wasn't like Sharon had never had nightmares before, but there were more now, and though she hadn't noticed at the time, it was easy for her to recall that at the safe house, she hadn't had a single one. It was easy for her to attribute that to Darcy. Sharon had slept beside her every other night for weeks, and now to be without her ( _ and _ also  _ without _ her)...

Even if Darcy  _ didn't _ want a romantic or sexual relationship, Sharon hoped they could still have a relationship without them. Darcy was a great person; being in her presence on a regular basis made Sharon happy. She could tell, because lying alone in her bed, Sharon knew she was unhappy.

She sighed and pushed all these thoughts away, closing her eyes. There was one memory that could usually get her to sleep (or if not, and she had to be awake all night, it was at least pleasant).

She was just remembering the smile on Darcy's face as she pulled Sharon's shirt off when there was a loud series of knocks on her front door.

Sharon didn't bother with a robe; she grabbed the gun she kept within arm's reach and stalked down the hallway in nothing but her tank top and pajama pants.

Her eyes widened when she looked through her peephole and saw Darcy bouncing with cold on her doorstep.

"Hi!" Darcy said with a wave, as soon as Sharon had stashed her sidearm and yanked open the various locks that kept her entry safe.

"You're... here?" Sharon managed to say. "I thought you were on Asgard?"

"Well, we were," Darcy said, and Sharon ushered her inside, checking behind her out of habit. Darcy kept talking as she relocked the door. "We would have been back earlier, but obviously, our presence had to be celebrated sufficiently. One does not simply take refuge on Asgard. There are feasts there, and you do not sleep, and the Great Eyepatch is ever watchful, in case he ever feels like comparing one of his guests to a barnyard animal."

"So, you—" Sharon began, but paused because she wasn't sure how she wanted to continue. "Where are Thor and Jane? And when—how—did you get here?"

"New York," Darcy replied. "We hit Midgard a couple hours ago. And a train, then a cab."

"You... came straight here? It's 4 am."

For the first time since the kitchen of the safe house the day they arrived there, Sharon saw Darcy look uncertain. "Yeah, well, I would have called, but... and I thought you'd... y'know, want to know we were back, and, uh, I... I left  _ The Moon's Temptation _ at the safe house, so it's been kind of hard to fall asleep, even in ‘The Golden Realm,’ y’know, and..." she glanced up at Sharon, but kept babbling. "I mean, if you want me to go, I can, I just thought you might—"

"I'm glad you're here," Sharon interrupted, and was pleased to see Darcy's face light up. "I haven't been able to sleep without you, either."

"Right," Darcy said, a hopeful grin on her face. "Sleep. Yeah. I’m really tired. Bifrost lag and everything. Maybe we should save the hardcore making out for tomorrow."

Sharon stepped closer and lowered her lips to Darcy's, kissing her soft and slow.

"I could definitely be convinced otherwise," Darcy breathed when Sharon stepped away.

"Let’s get you to bed, then," Sharon said, as she pulled Darcy's coat off and hung it on the rack nearby. She took her hand and tugged her down the hallway. 

Darcy giggled lasciviously. "You're not making a good case for my REM cycle," she said.

"You being here is good for mine," Sharon said, taking Darcy's overnight bag and putting it on the dresser. "Like I said, I haven't been sleeping well since the safe house. I didn't sleep great the nights I had watch, either, and I don't think it was just because of the couch. It was because you—"

Darcy pinned Sharon against the wall and kissed her.

Much later, Sharon roused herself enough to roll off of Darcy's shoulder, kissing it as she went. Darcy moaned and rolled onto her side, and Sharon spooned up behind her, draping her arm over Darcy's waist and feeling her own heart lift as she put her nose in Darcy's hair. Being with her, just like this... it was a dream come true.

"Sweet dreams," Sharon whispered.

But Darcy was already asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since this is all from Sharon's perspective, I didn't have a chance to write about Darcy's Adventures in Asgard. Check them out here: [Darcy's Hero](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11757396)
> 
> [Reblog on tumblr](http://catrinasl.tumblr.com/post/174115547768/sweet-dream-come-true)
> 
> Tumblr: [catrinasl](http://catrinasl.tumblr.com)
> 
> Twitter: [@Catrina_SL](http://twitter.com/Catrina_SL)


	8. Upgrade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sharon gets an upgrade.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 82\. “I was in the neighbourhood.”

The one upside to being stationed at the Triskelion had been that her place was actually in the same town as where she worked. (Her actual place, not just her 'babysitting Steve Rogers' mission apartment.) Now that S.H.I.E.L.D. was gone and Sharon worked for the Avengers, the worst part of going on a long mission was having to take the train back to DC before she could officially declare herself home.

Though it was far away from New York, having a place that was hers and not just another temporary housing unit in the Tower was a mixed blessing. She and Darcy had privacy (it was three to four hours away, but they had it), but getting there and back was cost and time prohibitive. Darcy was sharing a temporary housing unit with Jane in the Tower, so even though it was a closer option than Sharon's place in DC, they couldn’t manage much alone time there. 

She needed an upgrade.

Sharon used any down time during her mission to puzzle it over. An obvious answer would have been for Sharon to get her own place closer to base. Even without taking time with Darcy into the equation, that move made sense. If she  _ did _ take Darcy's presence into account, things got thrown off again; nobody knew when Jane might pull up roots and go jetting off across the world/universe, taking Darcy with her. It wasn't like Sharon could go apartment hunting on Vanaheim.

The obvious answer was that Sharon should ask Darcy if she wanted to get a place  _ together _ , but it was too soon. Sharon knew that getting an apartment with someone just to make the possibility of sex more convenient was a bad idea, but it didn't stop her from thinking about it (that is, thinking about both the cohabiting  _ and _ the sex).

These thoughts led Sharon out of the conference room and straight to Darcy's when her mission debrief was over. If Jane was home, at least they could spend some time together. If not...

It was past 11 when Sharon knocked on the door, and a sleepshirt-clad Darcy opened it, gasped, and ran off.

"I was in the neighborhood?" Sharon said, leaning in the doorway to see whether this behavior meant that she should come in or go away.

"Mmp mmf mn mh mmmhmmb," Darcy told her when she returned to the living area with a toothbrush stuffed in her mouth. She thrust a sock into Sharon's hand and pointed at the door.

"Huh?" Sharon replied, but shut the door behind her as Darcy returned to the bathroom to finish brushing her teeth.

"Put it on the doorknob," Darcy repeated, splashing water on her face to get rid of the toothpaste on her chin. "This is the first night in like the entire time we've been here that Jane's out on an adorable date with Thor, and now you're here, so I'm going to feel no remorse in being the asshole roommate who sock-on-the-doorknobs their less fortunate roommie into sleeping on the couches in the library so they can bang their girlfriend all night." Her face scrunched up with the ghost of outrage, a terrible college memory passing behind her eyes as she shook her fist at the ceiling. " _ Mindy _ ."

"So we have the whole place to ourselves?" Sharon asked, and pulled off her jacket.

"Less talk, more socking doorknobs," Darcy said, and grabbed the sock to hang her own Do Not Disturb symbol. She locked the door behind her and turned a lustful gaze on Sharon.

"God, I missed you," Sharon whispered, the heat in Darcy's look shooting straight through her.

"Less talk," Darcy commanded, as she sultrily advanced. "More banging your girlfriend all night."

* * *

For the next several hours, Sharon wasn't capable of coherent speech, much less a delicate conversation. But at about 1:30, when Darcy had called a time out to hydrate, Sharon felt up to tackling the housing question.

After all, Darcy had been the one to use the "g" word.  ( _ Word _ , not  _ spot _ , though Sharon had to admit that Darcy had that on lock.)

"So as I was saying," Sharon panted when Darcy returned and handed her a glass of water. "I was in the neighborhood."

Darcy laughed. "Wow, were you trying to start a conversation earlier that got drowned in the tidal wave of my horniness?"

"Maybe," Sharon admitted with a grin, "but my awkward talk is not more important than your orgasms."

"That's good to know," Darcy said, and settled down onto the bed next to Sharon again. "It's nice to have a lover who prioritizes my orgasms."

"Speaking of prioritizing your orgasms, I've been thinking about moving my stuff up from DC. I just have to decide where I want my new place to be."

"Oh, nice!" Darcy replied. Sharon was glad she approved, and was going to say so, but Darcy was occupied with something. She'd put her glass down on the nightstand and was leaning over it, digging in the drawer. "Hill has awesome timing," she said when she sat back up. She held something out for Sharon to take.

It was a key.

"Hill gave me a shovel talk and a key to what's apparently 'your' apartment here in the Tower. She said you ignored all the hints she dropped that you should move in here, and that an invitation coming from  _ me _ might be more enticing."

"Hill gave you a... shovel talk?"

"Well it was mostly, 'if you hurt her I will kill you personally. Don't get pregnant.'" She frowned. "Actually, I'm not sure if Maria knows where babies come from.  ~~ Unless this is an ABO fic and no one told me. ~~ "

Sharon considered this. "Well, as far as convenience goes I guess I couldn't do better," she said, "but the reason I hadn't already moved in was because I didn't love the idea of temporary housing, even if they were going to let me bunk alone."

"Yeah, the one Hill tried to foist on you before was gonna be a crappy place like this.  _ That _ apartment isn't temporary housing," Darcy told her, and pointed at the key in her hand. "It's practically a Stark penthouse: it has a gigantic kitchen, a soaking tub big enough for two (wink, wink), a freaking majestic view, and a closet for days. Thor's got one just like it; it's pretty amazing."

"But—" Sharon began, confused.

"And the best part is that it's on the Avengers Floor," Darcy continued.

"The Avengers Floor?" Sharon repeated.

"Yeah, apparently Tony decided you deserved an upgrade for all the greater good you served by offing that supervillain to protect your beautiful damsel of a girlfriend. Should I call him so he can put on his Hagrid cosplay and make it official? 'Yer an Avenger, Carter.'"

Sharon couldn't quite decide which new development most overwhelmed her.

"I'm... an Avenger," her mouth said, without checking first.

"I know, right?" Darcy exclaimed. "I am voting to get you a skin-tight suit like Natasha. Only let's not do black, because Nat might get jealous, so... what's the next hottest...? Oh my god,  _ white _ . I'm going to text Tony now, and he'll get you a white stealth suit, and I'll make all kinds of good points about how it'll help camouflage you in Antarctica or whatever, but only  _ I _ will know that it's just so I can peel it off you when you get back from Avenging." She giggled maniacally.

Sharon put out a hand to pause Darcy's eager texting and said, "You're my girlfriend."

Darcy abandoned her phone immediately and gasped, "You said it!"

"You said it first," Sharon said.

"I know, but I can call myself your girlfriend until I'm blue in the face; it's not true until  _ you _ say it."

Sharon laughed. "At least you're not demanding I post it on social media. My last partner was angry that I didn't have a personal facebook page. You know, one that wasn't for a cover."

"Uh, duh," Darcy said with a roll of her eyes. "If you post it online, it just reels in the bad guys."

"Well, that," Sharon admitted, "and the whole CIA agent thing. They decided pretty soon after that that dating a spy might be sexy, but it wasn't worth it if they couldn't change their relationship status online."

Darcy thought about it a bit before answering. "I mean, on one hand, understandable, because I would love to rub it in my cousin's face that I'm dating an Avenger, but I guess I'm kind of used to mega-vaguetweeting because of the whole 'my boss is dating a god' thing, so it's not a deal breaker for me at this point." She grinned. "Doesn't mean I can't brag about your bad-guy-butt-kicking prowess at Thanksgiving, though."

"Just make sure your mom's new boyfriend isn't a supervillain first," Sharon joked.

"I swear to  _ god _ , the last one was. You should have seen his twirly mustache!" Darcy said with a laugh.

Sharon sighed happily. "Well, I think I've had a pretty good day."

"I bet I can make it better," Darcy began, bobbing her eyebrows.

"I got a new job title, a raise—"

"Hill didn't mention—" Darcy interrupted, but Sharon interrupted her right back.

"If I'm an Avenger, I'm getting a raise.”

Darcy nodded, amused. "Good luck with that."

Sharon continued: "I got a place to live, and I got the girl."

"Now all you have to do is ride off into the sunset," Darcy laughed. “There should be one conveniently located outside your brand new windows in... sixteen hours or so!”

“I think I'd rather stay right here," Sharon said, and kissed her.

"Mmm," Darcy replied. "Me too.”

A few moments later, she leaned back and said, “But we’re definitely trying your new tub later, right?"

Sharon grinned. “Absolutely.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mindy is the college roommate we all had and still hate.
> 
> [Reblog on tumblr](http://catrinasl.tumblr.com/post/174148566208/upgrade)
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> Tumblr: [catrinasl](http://catrinasl.tumblr.com)
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> Twitter: [@Catrina_SL](http://twitter.com/Catrina_SL)


	9. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sharon comes home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 89\. “I noticed.”

"Okay, wow." Sharon set the houseplant Darcy had gifted her on the kitchen counter and wandered to the windows, which spanned the entire length of the living area.

"I know right?" Darcy agreed, heading into the kitchen with a bag of groceries and other necessities she'd insisted Sharon couldn't live without.

"I think I might like being an Avenger," Sharon admitted.

"You guys are headed out on another bad-guy-stopping adventure tomorrow, right?" Darcy asked, leaving the kitchen to put her arms around Sharon's waist and her head on Sharon's shoulder.

"Mmhm," Sharon confirmed, hugging Darcy to her. "That's the drawback to this gig: amazing apartment, crazy work schedule. Oh, hey, would you mind stopping in to keep the plant alive?"

" _ That _ is an unkillable ZZ plant," Darcy told her. "I was told that it doesn't care whether you water it and that even if you take off for a year, it'll be fine." She looked up at Sharon. "You're not leaving for a year."

"I don't—" Sharon began, but stopped, because she didn't know how long the mission was going to take, and didn't want to say the wrong thing, just in case it did. "Probably not?"

Darcy didn't seem upset when she said, "If you're gone for more than two weeks I'll just go yell at Hill."

"That seems reasonable," Sharon allowed. "She probably won't be able to  _ do _ anything—"

"Oh, I know," Darcy interrupted. "It'll just make me feel better. Hill's solid. She'll understand."

The topic made Sharon's heart thump, but she didn't know if she should confess something so serious so early in the relationship. If her feelings scared  _ her _ , then they'd most likely scare Darcy, too. 

She searched for something different to talk about. "My stuff should get here sometime next week," she said, "from my old place in DC. Would you want to be here, just to kind of order the movers around?"

"Sure, I love ordering people around," Darcy replied. 

Sharon coughed to keep from saying something that would inappropriately derail the conversation. "I've got that huge bookshelf in my living room, remember? I definitely want it there, against the wall by the door. Other than that I don't really care where they put stuff in here."

"Yeah, you can always move the couch later."

"The bedroom I'm not so sure about, though. Want to help me with that?"

"You're inviting me into your bedroom?" Darcy asked, a flirtatious tilt to her voice. "This is so sudden, so unexpected, Agent 13!"

Sharon winked at her. "Maybe later we'll try the bathtub."

* * *

Avenging was hard work. By the time they got back to base and Rogers finished his long-winded debrief, Sharon was ready to collapse. She wasn't looking forward to all the moving-in work ahead of her, but she hoped that her bed was at least set up. If not, she was totally okay with collapsing in Darcy's instead.

She had sent a text from the quinjet when they were making their descent, but she had lost track of time in the post-mission haze and wasn't sure how long ago it had been or if Darcy had even replied. She slogged down to her apartment, intent on staying upright long enough to get clean, get dressed, and find her girlfriend.

But she didn't have to, because when she walked into her home (and it really  _ was _ , with the furniture arranged both logically and aesthetically, and all her stuff just where she would have put it herself), Darcy was there.

"No, Jane, not all of them, just, like,  _ one _ box. I promise I'll replace them," she said into the phone. "'What happened to them?' They're Pop Tarts, what do you  _ think _ happened? I ate them! Okay, thanks. Yeah, Strawberry, if you can spare any, and if not, whatever's fine. Sharon's going to be here any minute and Pop Tarts are necessary for housewarming." She laughed at something Jane said. "I know, but it's true. Yeah. Thanks. Okay, see you in a minute."

"That wall is a different color," Sharon said, pointing at the wall the bookcase was holding up. "It wasn't that color before."

"Holy shit," Darcy protested. "I didn't even hear you come in!" She tossed her phone on the counter and pressed herself against Sharon in a quick hug. "Yeah, the wall... that's not all that's different. I kinda went a little crazy, actually."

"I noticed," Sharon said.

"And I don't know if you heard, but I also definitely ate all your Pop Tarts."

Since Darcy had been the one to buy the Pop Tarts in the first place, that didn't bother Sharon so much. "Did you mount my TV on the wall?"

"Like I'm that awesome," Darcy scoffed. "I made Tony do it."

"Where did that couch throw come from?"

Darcy grinned. "I made it."

"You made  _ that _ in three weeks?" Sharon boggled.

"It only took one," Darcy told her, modestly. "I  _ am _ awesome enough for that. I also put away the linens in the linen closet and hung up all your clothes (you can rearrange them later), got you some laundry stuff and did my best with guessing where you might want stuff in the bathroom. I had the movers put all the exercise equipment and badass secret agent stuff in the spare room, and your plant is not dead. Welcome home!"

"I'm home," Sharon said with a smile.

"Come on, I'll show you the new duvet cover I got for you!" Darcy said excitedly, and dragged her down the hallway.

Sharon approved of the purple, and of the lamps Darcy had picked out for the bedside tables. But there was one thing she hadn't expected. "That's not my pillow," she said, and when she glanced at Darcy, she saw a blush on her face.

"Yeah, I...'ve kind of been sleeping here?" Darcy confessed. "The first time it was an accident, because I was here really late the day your stuff showed up and I ended up passing out on the bed after I got it put together and the sheets on it. And then the next day Thor and I did the accent wall in the living room, and I cleaned up here but my clothes were still in the wash and I was really tired and I figured..." She sighed. "And after that I tried to go back to my bed in me and Jane's little temporary place, but it  _ smells _ like you here, and I  _ missed _ you, and that's super creepy, I know, but..."

Sharon pulled her close. "You're amazing," she told Darcy. "I was dreading having to do all this moving in stuff when I got back, but you took care of  _ everything _ ."

"You're not mad?" Darcy asked, looking up at Sharon with a worried expression.

"I'd be thanking you more believably if I wasn't so tired," Sharon assured her.

"That sounds nice," said Darcy, and gave her a blinding smile. She kissed Sharon lightly. "Go get cleaned up. Jane's bringing Pop Tarts."

Sharon was reluctant to let her go. "You'll stay?" she asked sleepily.

"You want me to? On your first night in your new place?" Darcy asked.

Sharon smiled. "It wouldn't be home without you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Reblog on tumblr](http://catrinasl.tumblr.com/post/174438881698/home)
> 
> Tumblr: [catrinasl](http://catrinasl.tumblr.com)
> 
> Twitter: [@Catrina_SL](http://twitter.com/Catrina_SL)


	10. Words Unsaid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sharon has to go. Now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 100\. “You don’t have to go now, do you?”

"You don't have to go now, do you?" Darcy asked Sharon constantly. 

She asked in the morning, when Sharon got up early to train with Natasha. 

She asked in the afternoon, when her lunch break had been over for fifteen minutes and she and Sharon were still making out in the filing room. 

She asked in the evening, when Sharon turned off Jane's TV and kissed her on the head before heading back to her place (even though more than half the time, Darcy went with her).

It was a sentiment Sharon could get behind. She found that any spare moment that her attention didn't have to be focused on something else, she was thinking of Darcy. Things she had said, things she had done, things that she liked or would make her happy. It was obvious that time with Sharon made Darcy happy, and Sharon decided that she was ready to let Darcy know how happy she was, too.

* * *

"Whoa," Darcy said when she walked into Sharon's apartment.

Sharon smiled. She was nervous, but meticulously planning everything had helped her to calm down. She had set the table, ordered food from Darcy's favorite Italian place, texted Darcy to invite her over for dinner, poured the wine, and lit the candles, and squeezed herself into a dress she knew Darcy loved (her exact words had been, "That looks amazing on you, but it'd look even better on my bedroom floor").

She was ready.

"What's the occasion?" Darcy wanted to know.

"I, uh," Sharon began, her nervousness returning now that Darcy was standing in front of her. "I just wanted to... remind you that you're amazing, and I..." She took a deep breath.  _ Come on, Sharon! How hard is it to say three words?! _ "I—"

"Carter," Hill's voice interrupted, coming over the emergency comms. "Suit up. It's time to Assemble."

Darcy looked stricken. "You don't have to go  _ now _ , do you?"

Sharon groaned, then kissed Darcy and handed her a glass of wine. "Get Pepper or somebody in here to help you eat all this food," she said, as she pulled off her shoes.

Darcy sighed. "Platonic candlelit dinners don't usually end the same way that romantic ones do," she mused.

"Hold that thought," Sharon said, kissing her again, "and I'll meet you here the second I get back. We can pick up right where we left off."

"I'd rather hold  _ you _ ," Darcy whined.

"Don't tease," Sharon requested, turning her back. "Unzip me?"

Darcy laughed. "Now who's teasing?" she asked, lowering Sharon's zipper and kissing her shoulder blade. Then she smiled and shoved her toward the door. "Go. Save the world."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Reblog on tumblr](http://catrinasl.tumblr.com/post/174976932198/words-unsaid)
> 
> Tumblr: [catrinasl](http://catrinasl.tumblr.com)
> 
> Twitter: [@Catrina_SL](http://twitter.com/Catrina_SL)


	11. A Perfect Ending

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sharon takes Bucky's advice and doesn't waste any time getting back to Darcy to say those three little words. It's a perfect ending.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “I love you.”

Sharon was annoyed.

It had only been a day and a half since she'd abandoned Darcy with the romantic dinner she had spent so much time and effort to plan. She supposed that she ought to be grateful they hadn't been gone for weeks, but the short completion time had been the only good part about the mission. 

Leaving Darcy had been one thing, but the knowledge that she hadn't even really been necessary dragged on her. She and Rogers had stayed at base camp the entire time, deliberating different possible tactics, managing the battle, and giving orders. Sharon didn't feel that she helped much, even though Romanov had assured her that she'd saved both her life and Barton's. She consoled herself with that fact and sat, quietly stewing, in the quinjet with the rest of the Avengers.

Well, not  _ all _ of them.

"Hey," Tony said into the tense silence as they zoomed over the Atlantic, "I've been wondering this for a while: I know Thor’s on Asgard, but where's Bird Boy Number Two?"

Rogers smiled and shook his head while Barnes rolled his eyes. 

"I swear to god, Stark, if you ever call me 'Bird Boy Number One,' I will slit your throat in your sleep," Barton called from the cockpit.

"At least you're 'Number One,'" Romanov told him, a teasing grin on her face.

"No, really, where is he?" Tony asked, eyeing the super soldiers. "We probably could have used another flyer out there."

"He was otherwise engaged," Rogers said delicately.

"Third date with the girl from payroll," Barnes reported, with a less than delicate bob of his eyebrows.

"Wilson thinks he can skip a call to Assemble to get  _ laid _ ?" Tony would have said, if Sharon hadn't said it first. 

Attention in the quinjet shifted to her. "I mean, how is  _ that _ fair?"

"You're just complaining because it wasn't  _ you _ getting laid," Barton alleged. He was lucky Sharon was sitting near the back (and also that killing him would have caused a minor inconvenience and possibly all of their deaths while they moved his body so someone else could fly the thing).

"Not that it's any of your business, but I wasn't  _ just _ going to get laid," Sharon growled, mostly to herself, but Tony heard, and Tony gasped, like the gossip-mongering thirteen year old he truly was inside.

"Were you going to  _ propose _ ?" he squeaked.

Sharon scowled at him in reply, but couldn't resist asking, "Have you ever had to leave someone at a crucial relationship moment because of hero-ing?"

The jet was quiet for a moment.

"I almost missed my youngest son's birth because of the whole Ultron thing," Barton confessed. 

"I left Pepper unkissed on a rooftop and took the Mark II to Gulmira to blow up bad guys," Tony informed her cheerfully.

"I once crashed a plane and ended up in the 21st century," Rogers said, examining the wall of the quinjet behind her. "Stood a girl up."

They all looked at Romanov, so she cleared her throat. "I'm pretty sure Thor and Foster almost didn't work out the whole thing with him not going to see her after the Chitauri invasion," she offered.

"Boo," was Tony's opinion.

"Give the girl who could kill you with her thighs a pass, maybe?" Barton suggested sagely.

"What about you, then?" Tony asked Barnes.

"Nope," Barnes told them all proudly. "I’ve never done anything like that, and I never will. I'm not an idiot, and that's exactly why I told Wilson not to be." He frowned at Rogers. "Life's—well, I won't say it's too short, because for some of us it isn't, but... We're busy people with dangerous lives.  _ Time _ is precious." His gaze flicked to Sharon. "You shouldn't waste it."

Rogers let out a long sigh. "Fine," he said, glaring at Barnes. "But we're doing it on base. No press. Fewer than fifty guests. And we're not wearing the rings when we're on duty. Jewelry is hazardous, and the last thing we need is supervillains finding out we got hitched."

Tony's mouth fell open and he looked back and forth between the glowering Rogers and the beaming Barnes.

"Did you two just get  _ engaged _ and I missed it?!" Barton demanded, taking his eyes off the sky to try to see what was happening behind him.

Romanov rolled her eyes. " _ Finally _ ."

Sharon laughed, and Tony emitted a sound that could only be compared to that of a deflating balloon. "You're...  _ together _ ?! I can't believe this!" He leaned forward, putting his head in his hands. "Now I owe Hill two hundred bucks!"

* * *

Sharon took Barnes' advice, told Hill and Rogers to stuff their debrief, and went downstairs without stopping to change.

Darcy was exactly where Sharon had left her.

"Oh my god," she breathed, as Sharon shut the door behind her. " _ You have a white stealth suit _ ! Why didn't you  _ tell _ me?! I... I can't even!"

Sharon walked over to her and took Darcy's face in her hands, kissing her soundly. 

When Sharon stopped to put her forehead against Darcy's, she continued, "Do you even know how much it means to me that you listened to my crazy rambling and used the idea for your superhero costume?" She put her arms around Sharon's waist and pulled her closer. "I mean, I'm... I feel so special. Not to mention you look  _ mega _ -hot." Darcy leaned back and ran her eyes and hands over Sharon's curves. "Like,  _ yowza _ ."

Sharon laughed. "I love you," she said. "I think about you every second of the day. You're so amazing. You're resourceful and funny, you always put others before yourself, and you make me so, so happy." She pushed Darcy's hair away from her face, caressing her cheek and smiling into her eyes. "I love you, Darcy."

Darcy let out a nervous and breathless laugh. "I love you too,” she confessed. “I think I've loved you since that first time I saw you blush at the safe house.”

Sharon kissed Darcy again, jubilantly, trying to communicate her feelings which had no words through the kiss.

"This is awesome," Darcy breathed. "Can we keep doing this forever? The happy kissing?"

Sharon paused to looked at her. "Yeah," she said. "We should. Stay. Move in with me."

"Oh my god, are you serious?” Darcy gasped. “Yes, I will totally move in! Holy shit, Sharon, that is the best idea! I—You—I love you; I can't even  _ tell _ you how elated I am right now. I feel like I'm going to burst!"

"Try this," Sharon suggested, and kissed her again.

"Mmm," Darcy approved, throwing herself into it. "I like this method of communication."

"I'm getting that you're excited," Sharon gauged, when Darcy stopped kissing her to breathe, "and that you love my outfit."

"I love you  _ in _ your outfit," Darcy clarified.

"Well, kiss-communication isn't an exact science."

"I'm willing to dedicate more time to perfecting it," Darcy said, kissing Sharon's neck and jaw. "For science."

"Science. Of course," Sharon said with a smile. "I'm sorry about the other night. I should have told you before I left, but I wanted things to be perfect."

Darcy beamed at her. "Sharon," she said. "They are."

Sharon stared at Darcy, awed and a little dumbfounded. "Yeah," she agreed, pulling Darcy close. “They are, aren’t they?”

"This kind of feels like the end of a movie," Darcy commented, as she set her head on Sharon’s shoulder. "Like, there should be a shot of us standing here, looking out at the city, and then it zooms out and away and we're kissing or something, but it pans off for a view of the Manhattan sunset before things get too spicy, and then it zooms into the clouds. Cue the credits."

Sharon obliged her by supplying the kissing.

"Pretty good ending, huh?" Darcy asked, before things got too spicy.

Sharon smiled. "I'm hoping for a sequel, actually."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Reblog on tumblr](http://catrinasl.tumblr.com/post/175013316628/perfect-ending)
> 
> Tumblr: [catrinasl](http://catrinasl.tumblr.com)
> 
> Twitter: [@Catrina_SL](http://twitter.com/Catrina_SL)

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Darcy's Hero](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11757396) by [CatrinaSL](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CatrinaSL/pseuds/CatrinaSL)
  * [The Upshot of the Outcome](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15488202) by [CatrinaSL](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CatrinaSL/pseuds/CatrinaSL)




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